Paine downplays spot-fixing allegations

Australia have no reason to be concerned by allegations of corruption, according to captain Tim Paine.

Published : May 28, 2018 20:21 IST

Tim Paine is confident "unsubstantiated claims" of spot-fixing against Australia will prove unfounded and have no impact on their limited-overs tour of England.

An Al Jazeera documentary aired on Sunday included allegations that two unnamed Australian players had conspired with bookmakers to manipulate periods of play during the Test match against India in Ranchi in March 2017.

Three England players are alleged to have been involved in a separate incident, an accusation Joe Root dismissed as "outrageous".

Paine, Steve Smith's successor as Test and one-day skipper, echoed Root's comments.

"As far as I'm aware the claims are unsubstantiated," Paine told reporters. "And as far as I'm concerned our players have got nothing to worry about.

"I've never seen anything like it to be honest and I can't speak on behalf of all of our guys but I know it's never been spoken about in Australian dressing rooms that I've been involved in.

"At this stage it's unsubstantiated claims and we're confident none of our guys are involved in it.

"This group here are solely focused on going to England and putting up a really good performance over there."

June's five one-day internationals mark Australia's first series under the combined leadership of Paine and head coach Justin Langer.

Paine said Langer held a meeting to discuss team values in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal that rocked cricket, but insisted competitiveness would not be compromised under the new regime.

"We're not going [to England] to make up the numbers or be the nicest Australian cricket team to ever playing against," the wicketkeeper said.

"We're going to be really competitive but at the same time we're going to be really respectful. But we're going there to win."

 

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